Chapter 11
Cormac was relieved when they finally arrived back at Corrieden. His heart had been pounding ever since Theo almost went over the edge, and he could relax once he knew the boy was back where he needed to be.
It could’ve been an accident. Even the most placid of horses could act out of the ordinary. But with the warning about Ellingham from William, plus the way his demeanor shifted subtly, Cormac couldn’t shake that something had happened, and that Ellingham wanted something bad to happen.
It was cold to think that anyone could want to harm a child for any reason possible. Cormac could never do that himself.
He was still thinking about it the next day when he and Hamish returned to Corrieden, Cormac planning to claim he wanted to see how Theo was.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about the interaction between him and Ellingham before he left.
When Cormac had been about to leave, waiting for Hamish to join him, Ellingham had joined him, laying a hand on Cormac’s reins to stop him from going anywhere.
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for my nephew and sister-in-law,” he said, his tone smooth and calm. “But you do need to be careful, my lord.”
“How so?” Cormac asked.
“Well, she’s a widow, and with a neighbor visiting as much as you would give people much to talk about. I’m sure you don’t want her reputation dented.” His expression turned a little smug. “I’m her family. I’ll see to her now. You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
Cormac didn’t like the sound of that. It was disconcerting, and he could tell that Ellingham was making an effort to push him away. He leaned forward in his saddle, glancing toward the house before lowering his voice.
“William was a close friend of mine,” he said. “He made me promise to look after his family should anything happen to him.”
“Oh, really?”
“He confided a great deal in me.” He fixed Ellingham with a hard stare. “A great deal.”
Something had flickered behind Ellingham’s eyes, but then his smile was back and he released the reins, taking a step back.
“I’m sure he’ll be glad that you’ve carried out your duty, my lord, but you don’t need to anymore. I’m here now.”
“Forgive me, Lord Ellingham, but I’m not about to take your word for it.”
Cormac was certain that Ellingham had been threatening him, warning him off. That wasn’t going to happen; as far as he was concerned, he would relax and walk away once Ellingham himself left Corrieden.
However, given the way he was behaving, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“Are you going to be needing me?” Hamish asked as they rode into the stables and dismounted, handing the reins to one of the stable lads.
“Possibly.” After being confronted by Ellingham, Cormac just wanted to be alone. “Why?”
“I just wondered, that’s all.”
But from the way his friend was glancing around, looking nervous, Cormac had a feeling it was for another reason. He chuckled.
“I’m sure Bea Lowe will be delighted to see you again. What are you going to argue about this time?”
“What?” Hamish’s eyes snapped up. “What are you talking about?”
“You seemed pretty eager to have a debate with her yesterday. You looked flushed when I joined you.”
Hamish cleared his throat, his face going even redder than before.
Cormac laughed. He’d suspected that his friend was quite taken with the pretty governess, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
Hamish probably saw it as refreshing that someone was interested in him and wasn’t afraid to stand up to him over a topic.
Before the steward could reply, the door leading into the house opened and Theo ran out. He looked delighted to see them as he trotted over.
“Cormac!” He jumped as he flung his arms around Cormac’s waist, almost knocking him over. “I thought you weren’t going to come back!”
“Of course I would!” Cormac hugged him and then crouched to look into the boy’s face. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because Uncle Julian said you wouldn’t be bothering us anymore.” Theo pouted. “You’re not bothering us, though. I like you being here.”
Cormac wondered what Ellingham had been saying. Had he tried to go another way about splitting him apart from Theo and Lady Ellingham after he refused to back down? It seemed likely. Ellingham was getting more and more suspicious by the minute.
Footsteps approached them, and he looked up to see Lady Ellingham and Bea walking over.
His heart swelled at the sight of the dowager countess.
She was wearing a cream dress, her hair tied back in a simple chignon at the base of her neck.
Her hair was away from her face, revealing the beautiful features that she’d been hiding.
The scar was prominent, but it didn’t take away from the beauty that was already there. He smiled at the sight, pleased to see that she wasn’t hiding herself away anymore. Bea was also smiling, but looking at Hamish.
It seemed the attraction was mutual.
Cormac got to his feet and bowed. “Lady Ellingham.”
“Rosalind.”
Her eyes flickered something, and she nodded. They stared at each other a moment more, and then Hamish coughed.
“We wanted to make sure young Theo was all right. After what happened…”
“I’m all right,” Theo piped up. “I was scared, but I’m fine now.”
“That’s good.” Hamish looked around, his gaze pausing a moment on Bea. “I take it Lord Ellingham is inside?”
“Actually, no,” Rosalind said. “He left for Inverness this morning.”
Cormac blinked. “Inverness? He’s only just arrived, and that’s still a journey.”
“He said he would deal with William’s affairs.
There are things that need to be signed, and he thought he would sort out some of his own business there.
” Rosalind shrugged. “I’m not about to ask what he’s doing.
It would be too complicated to go into, and I prefer to keep things as simple as I can. ”
Cormac could agree with that, although he was a little concerned with Rosalind choosing not to know more about her brother-in-law’s business.
Then again, it was probably normal to leave it be.
Given how Ellingham had spoken, he did have an attitude about him that suggested he saw himself as superior.
Rosalind probably placated him by leaving him to his own devices.
She had a lot to deal with on her own.
Even so, the timing of Ellingham going to Inverness after what Cormac had said was niggling at him. There couldn’t be a coincidence there.
“Come on!” Theo cried, grabbing Cormac’s hand. “Let’s go and look through the spyglass. I want to see if there are any birds over the loch.”
“Well…”
Cormac didn’t get any further before he was tugged along by the child.
For a little boy, he was surprisingly strong.
He could hear someone laughing behind him, but he wasn’t sure who it was coming from.
Theo led him around to the garden and then toward the wall where it suddenly dropped on the other side.
There was a blanket and a cushion on the ground, along with a book and a spyglass as well as a jug of lemonade with a glass.
“Have you been out here this morning?” Cormac asked in surprise.
Theo beamed. “I wanted to be outside. And I wanted to see the birds and animals.”
“You’re not going to see them sitting on this side of the wall, are you?”
“I can’t go any farther. Mama won’t allow me to go alone.” Theo grimaced. “It’s annoying.”
“After what happened to you last time, I think there’s a good reason for it,” Rosalind said as she joined them. “There won’t be someone to rescue you next time.”
“What about one of the servants?”
“Theo…”
Her son sighed heavily and picked up the spyglass, forgetting the chastisement as he put it to his eye and looked out across the valley.
Cormac watched him with a smile. He could understand the fascination with the scenery.
He’d been like that when he was the same age.
It could look lonely and isolating, but there was also something comforting about it.
Like it was all his and didn’t have to share it with anyone.
“I’m sure this is Theo’s way of pushing boundaries,” Rosalind said as she moved alongside him. “I won’t let him go off on his own. After what happened yesterday…”
“Does he seem to be upset about yesterday’s incident?” Cormac asked.
“To begin with, but soon he was jumping around chattering away as if it hadn’t happened. It was a relief to see him bounce back without any major problems.”
“That’s something.” He regarded her closely. “I’m sure you were worried about him once we returned. You hurried into the house with him before your horse had even stopped. You almost tripped over your skirts.”
Rosalind glanced away.
“I was working on panic. I thought if I stayed outside much longer then something was going to happen and he was going to get hurt again.” She bit her lip. “Does that sound silly?”
“Of course not. You were scared something would happen to your son. It’s normal for you to be concerned.”
“Well, I’m still concerned. Just not as bad as yesterday.” She looked past him at Theo, who was leaning on the wall peering into the spyglass across the valley. “Were you ever like him? Did you worry your parents to the point they thought you were going to get into serious trouble?”
Cormac chuckled. “I think I could get myself into trouble without having to worry about them being scared of my safety.”
“How so?”
“When I was Theo’s age, I took my father’s hunter out without permission. I could barely get up into the saddle, but I managed it.”
Rosalind’s eyes widened. “You what? How did you manage that without anyone spotting you?”
“I can be very determined when I want to be.” Cormac could recall the memory as if it was yesterday.
“I managed to get out and across the moors, almost to the loch. Then when I came to the first wall, which was relatively low, I got too cocky and tried to clear it. Needless to say, I fell off and my father’s horse tumbled to the ground. ”
She gasped. “What? You were hurt?”